Lesley Pyle

February 14, 2022

How to Make Your Freelance Business Soar

Here are our Top Secret Tools

Congratulations on your decision to launch a freelance business. Whether you are launching a social media business, starting a bookkeeping business or starting a virtual assistant business, you are about to take one of the most rewarding journeys of your professional life. The HireMyMom team is excited to help you take the first steps.

If you are like most freelancers, you have questions as you get started. Likely, you have lots of questions–because that sense of curiosity (combined with a healthy dose of courage!) led you to this point. You are eager to see your business succeed–and so are we!

We suspect a lot of your questions center around logistics–questions like:

What tools and apps are most helpful for me and my business?
How to find good people when I need to outsource parts of my business?
How do I grow personally and professionally through this process?

We are here to help! This blog answers many of those questions for you. Let’s get started.

Use the Right Tools

Today, many people rely on online tools and apps to help with their work, but choosing the right tools for your business can be challenging. We get that!

The HireMyMom team has gathered our collective experience to compile a list of the best online tools we’ve found to help you run your business smoothly. We’ve put them all into one document where you can quickly learn more–and it’s available for free right now.

Our Online Tools & Apps Every Entrepreneur Needs download is chock full of tips that make it easier for you to select the right tools for your business. It covers:

Organizational tools that let you share your personal and work to-do lists and a tool that reduces email spam with just a few clicks. (We know, it sounds too good to be true!)
Collaboration and online storage programs that can help make your business sing and ensure that your whole team is singing the same song.
Options for email marketing–including ways to find leads, manage lists, and send messages out to customers and prospects.
Social media resources that give you more control over your posts.
Resources for creating great graphics to help craft an image for your business.
Apps to manage phone calls and scheduling like the pro you are.
Payments and accounting tools that help make payments and bookkeeping a snap.
Online resources to help you up your blog game, describe your business with greater precision and increase your SEO scores.

This guide is free and easy to use. It shares our best tips to save you the hassle of trying different things. Download it today and let us know which tool saved you the most time.

Find the right people and clients

It may seem far-fetched to think about hiring people when you first start, and many freelancers are solo operators. However, you may find that you need to bring in targeted expertise early–possibly much earlier than you expect. If you need to find administrative support, writing help, or social media expertise, look to HireMyMom for great people who share your passion and commitment to working moms. When you are ready to make your first hire, use this free downloadable Top 10 Interview Questions To Ask to help guide you.

HireMyMom is also a great place to find small businesses looking for the types of services you offer. Many small business owners depend on the HireMyMom site to find freelance talent. When you are ready for new clients, check posts frequently to grow your business. You can also find links for training opportunities to help you build your business and expand your client base.

Visit our website each week and check out our blog for the latest thoughts on workplace issues and working motherhood. Also, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram for all the latest news.

Cultivate Resources

As a new freelancer and business owner, support can help you navigate the early days of your business. One great way to do this is to connect with the U.S. Small Business Association. The federal government operates the SBA. The service and information are free and top-notch. Its excellent website features information to help you plan, grow and manage a small business. Visit the local assistance tab to find out more about resources in your area. There’s even a special section for women-owned businesses and an opportunity to get free business counseling from a partner organization.

Also, check your local Chamber of Commerce as another good source of information and contacts. Often, the chamber keeps a list of retirees or seasoned executives who are willing to mentor new freelancers and business owners.

Consider Coaching

When you launch a business, hang out your own shingle as a freelancer, or transition to working at home, it’s easy to second guess yourself. Confidence is essential as a business owner and freelancer. Rather than waste time fretting, take action by finding a coach or a group of like-minded people to help you move through this phase confidently.

An experienced, independent, outside voice can help provide feedback on what’s not working and give you the clarity you need on the best way to use your time and energy.

A coach can help you define what success means for you, guide you as you start or grow a remote career or business, and help you work through any fears that hold you back.

HireMyMom’s Coaching & Masterminds program can help bring out the best in your business and in your life. We currently offer two options:

Elevate You: CULTIVATE: Mastermind & Coaching for Women can help you gain the clarity and focus you need to pursue your dreams while connecting you with a community of like-minded moms. You’ll find the path for meaningful growth and success through the program based on what matters to you. You’ll create deep and authentic relationships with women on the same path and benefit from coaching from our founder and HireMyMom CEO, Lesley Pyle.

Best of luck with your new business–we are cheering for you!

Written by Lesley Pyle

February 7, 2022

Learn How Innovation Can Help You Expand Customer Relationships, Make More Money and Grow Your Business Fast

One common goal we hear from small business owners is a desire to expand their businesses. That’s not surprising–It’s fun to try new things and grow in different ways. As your business expands, your skillset grows, and you may add new members to your team, expanding your network and boosting your profits. What’s more, we’ve found that it gets easier to clearly see what’s next on the horizon for our business with every move.

But, sometimes, expanding the customer base for your existing products is a struggle. You’ve tried different marketing approaches and tapping new pools of potential customers, but it seems like a nut that just won’t crack.

In that situation, we find one of the most reliable ways to expand is by adding products or services that complement your existing offering. Adding services and products can round out your offering, help you stand out from the competition, find new customers and grow revenue.

Think of a restaurant adding a new menu option to appeal to a broader audience–that’s a product addition. If the same restaurant starts offering catering, that’s a complimentary service. These additions fall into the same realm as the restaurant’s original service. But, the changes will help attract new customers and provide additional services to existing customers–both of which can drive growth and increase sales.

While a restaurant is an easy way to visualize the concept, the idea works across all businesses. Consider a Virtual Assistant who primarily responds to email inquiries and manages calendars for small business owners. The VA may notice one of the people she supports is doing a lot of travel. With that knowledge and her existing relationship, she may decide to add travel planning services to complement her other work and pitch the service to the client she knows has upcoming travel.

Here’s another example. At HireMyMom, we added concierge services to help our customers who need staff right away and don’t have time to go through a traditional hiring phase, which can take attention away from their core business.

We’re looking at other ways to grow, too. For example, we are working on expanding our overall Human Resources services. New services could include helping with onboarding, creating policies and procedures for employees, and developing standard operating procedures for small businesses.

Other options include offering custom-written targeted emails to increase the exposure of specific jobs or lending the expertise of a Human Resources specialist to help employers enhance job postings to attract the right candidate.

Find the right products and services

No matter the business you are in, there’s likely a way to expand by offering additional products and services. The key is to determine what products and services your customers may want and which you can provide. Here are some ways to do some market research:

Listen carefully to the questions your customers ask. If your customers routinely ask if you provide a particular service or know who does, that’s a clue that demand exists, and it’s likely something your current customers might eagerly add to their orders with you.
See what the competition is offering. Take a look around at your key competitors and see what types of additional products and services they offer. There’s a good chance those same options may appeal to your customers.
Ask your customers what else they need or want. Inquire about how they use your main product or service and what could improve the experience.

Build the right team

Once you’ve decided on a new product or service to add, it’s time to make sure you can reasonably provide it. In some cases, you may need to add staff members to offer the option. In other cases, your existing staff may be able to absorb the work. Also, you may need to purchase new supplies or find space to store materials or do work.

Doing a little upfront planning can make the transition easier. The first few times you provide the product or service might feel a little rough. But, it’s all part of the product development lifecycle.

Check out our free Online Tools and App Every Entrepreneur Needs to find resources to help you expertly navigate this phase of your business.

Need inspiration? Join Mastermind

If you feel stuck or aren’t sure what types of services and product extensions might make sense for your business, an outside perspective can help you look at your business with fresh eyes.

HireMyMom’s new Small Business Mastermind could be just the catalyst you need to identify the types of add-on products and services that can take your business to the next level.

Through the program, you’ll find the path for meaningful growth and success based on what matters to you. You’ll create deep and authentic relationships with business owners on the a similar path.

The group will meet bi-monthly to discuss business growth, discuss ways to expand, and explore marketing ideas. The peer group dynamic will help fill you with fresh ideas and unique perspectives to develop new viewpoints and see your business with fresh eyes.

The group will explore ways to improve business systems, build better processes and automate your work.

A private group app puts all the tools and resources at your fingertips. Group sessions will provide an opportunity to share thoughts, get support, and find encouragement.

What’s more, the group sessions will help you stay accountable to your goals and will offer you a chance to network with other like-minded moms who you might not have otherwise met.

Happy growing!

Written by Lesley Pyle

February 3, 2022

Success Story- Kandi Johnson

Tell us about you and your experience finding work on HireMyMom.

I signed up with Hire My Mom last month when I signed up for The Savvy System. I’m an experienced virtual assistant, and really appreciate the resources that are available through Hire My Mom. The positions are fully vetted and real positions with reputable companies.

What are your top tips for landing a job or jobs on HireMyMom.com?

Be honest about what your skills and experience are (not what you hope to have experience in or just dabble in) and sign on every day to review new posts. Also have a clear resume prepared and do compose a thoughtful cover letter.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your work from home journey?

Set boundaries with your family, create personal time away from work, and have a work space that is defined as yours that you can enter in with a mind/body ready to work and step away from to help disengage your mind (otherwise you feel like you are working 24/7).

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

Being flexible and willing to learn has brought me the greatest experiences!

Written by Lesley Pyle

January 31, 2022

How to Expertly Blend Homeschool and Work from Home

As more parents choose to work from home, many also choose to educate their children at home. School closures, pandemic disruptions, an opportunity to design learning around particular interests, and a desire to have more control over time and learning are all factors driving the trend.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, homeschooling increased sharply in 2020 when the pandemic abruptly changed the face of school. And, parents report being increasingly open to different types of schooling beyond neighborhood schools–a sign that homeschooling is a trend that will likely continue to grow.

Homeschooling can offer many benefits–like the flexibility to take time off when it suits you and the opportunity to have more direct influence over what, when, and how your children learn. It can also reduce the chaos that marks the mornings as families scramble to get everyone dressed and off to a day at school.

But it also comes with a fair number of challenges–especially for parents who work. Adding homeschool to the mix can be challenging for moms who work from home. But, with some patience, a plan, and a big helping of grace, it’s totally possible. Here are our best tips for merging home life with working at home and homeschooling.

Set goals

If you are already homeschooling and adding work to the mix, or if you are already working from home and adding homeschool, take a few minutes to set some goals.

Your goals don’t need to be lofty. In fact, you might make establishing a baseline routine one of your goals or select a set amount of books to read by a specific date. But any goal, no matter how large or small it is, will help direct your actions and give you a greater sense of control over your time.

Allowing enough transition time and space to feel a little uncomfortable can help you adjust to the role you are adding to the mix.

Set up a school space and a workspace

We’re big fans of designated workspaces. Having a space set aside to do your professional work is key to helping you focus and feel ready to tackle your to-do list. The same goes for your kids.

Identify an area where homeschool activities will take place and make the space conducive to learning. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need a dedicated school room in your house. But, having a place where you gather to do school work with supplies and books at the ready will increase your effectiveness as you embark on your school lessons and help your children know when it’s time to work.

If you don’t have an extra desk or table to set up a school area, consider a portable desk, a box or a backpack to store all schoolwork and supplies, so it’s easily accessed when it’s time to dig into lessons.

Create routines

When you work at home, it’s essential to give your days a rhythm. When you work at home and homeschool, a routine is doubly important because it helps your kids know what to expect.

You don’t need a routine that’s as rigid as a school uses, but giving shape to your days will help you and your kids function on a more automatic level and reduce some of the cognitive load that goes into working and schooling at home.

For example, a routine for a day when everyone is home may start with breakfast, kitchen clean-up, and bed making. From there, have a short family meeting to discuss what’s on the docket for the day. Try to keep the general shape of the day similar to the previous day, so your kids know what to expect. This makes it easier to fit everything into the day.

Also, don’t hesitate to add outside free time, a quiet reading hour, or a rest period to the day so that you can carve out quiet time to do work that requires deep concentration. Adding these periods to each day can make it easier for your kids to go along with the plan because they know what to expect. In our experience, it’s easier to front-load the day with academic work rather than trying to pull kids into work later in the day once they settle into free-time activities.

Plan

Once you establish routines, layer a weekly and daily plan over the routine. Many homeschool curriculums lay out a week’s worth of lessons for you. Others let you pick what to cover in a week. Before each week begins, look over your plan. Then:

Consider if the outlined week is feasible based on your other responsibilities for the week. If so, great. If not, identify what needs to change and write it down.
Gather all the supplies you’ll need for the lessons and have them handy.
Consider your work responsibilities and make sure you have everything you need to succeed, including support from your spouse or childcare, if required.
Communicate with your kids about how the week will work and outline how they can help the family meet objectives for the week.

Be flexible

Despite creating routines and planning efforts, things will happen that require flexibility. Someone may get sick, an emergency house repair could pop up, or a work situation could change the way you funnel your attention for the week.

This is all normal and part of life. Sometimes days and weeks will go great, and you’ll marvel at your efficiency and accomplishments. Some days and weeks will be more challenging. The key is to be flexible and go with it. Trust that your efforts will come together to achieve your professional goals while giving your kids a solid educational foundation for the future.

Find support

Working at home can be lonely–many moms miss the camaraderie of the office and the support that comes from co-workers. When you work at home, it’s crucial to build a professional network that can help support you.

Networks are also essential to your role as an educator and your children’s role as a student. Many communities now offer homeschool enrichment classes, library services, co-ops, and other ways to connect with local homeschoolers. You can also find support online.

Making these connections will help you and your kids feel more comfortable learning and growing together.

Share the load

Remember that you are one person trying to do a lot of things. When you work at home and homeschool, you are a mother, wife, teacher, and professional. It’s essential that you communicate with your spouse and discuss ways to share the load.

But, know that even the best team needs outside help from time to time. There may be times when you need to call in support to help you manage the load. Here are some ideas:

Tap extended family members to help with teaching. If grandparents or aunts, or uncles are nearby, see if one (or more of them) can help pitch in for teaching duty.
Consider a tutor for some aspects of school work. Bring in a tutor if you struggle in an area or prefer not to be hands-on for a subject. Many tutors are available during the traditional school day, and having that help can help lighten your load, free up time when you can work, and introduce your children to another partner of their learning journey. This works exceptionally well with older kids.
Use childcare for a portion of the day. If your children are young, a few hours of childcare can really help free up time for you to get work done. There are plenty of options beyond traditional daycare centers–especially for homeschool families. Check out these ideas.
Outsource home tasks, such as grocery shopping or hire help with laundry or cleaning. Here are some tips to get started.

You tell us!

We’d love to hear your top tips. Drop us a line and tell us how you manage the responsibilities of work and homeschool.

Written by Lesley Pyle

January 27, 2022

How To Write An Invoice For Freelance Work

Freelancing is an emerging industry, as many companies realize that outsourcing saves money, but outsourcing to freelancers saves even more. The 2010s became the decade of freelancers and as more money was involved in the field that is yet to grow and mature, so did the interest of different countries into new sources of money to be taxed. While an average freelancer is no expert in finance and taxation, practice proves that ignorance can cost more than a month’s wage for those who are self-employed.

How to write an invoice for freelance work? – becomes a question asked more often than not. An invoice is a form of the official statement of earnings for a specific job that has been done and is as far from your regular contract or a paycheck. As such, the law sees an invoice as a form of communication between you and the taxing bodies in your country and should follow a more or less specific form that ensures all the relevant details are there.

How to form a clear invoice

Making, writing, or raising an invoice are all the terms you may hear. In a sea of (mis)information, let us sift through those and see what we can make out. Read on to find out all about the required invoice information:

Title,
Name and Logo (optional),
Contact Details,
Client’s details,
Invoice Date,
Invoice Number,
List of Services charged for,
The Amount Charged per Unit of Work,
Tax Rate (if applicable),
Total Amount due,
Payment Details, and
Signature (optional, in some cases, a digital signature applies).

Obligatory parts of an invoice for a freelancer

Title

All invoices must clearly state that they are an ‘invoice.’ Always check with your local authorities, the municipality office, or a bookkeeper for a more detailed explanation. Paying for an hour to consult a professional can save you thousands of dollars in fines further down the road.

Name and Logo

Every invoice should contain the name of the freelancer who did the work and who is getting paid. The invoice should also contain your agency’s name if you have one, as well as the logo. You should also sign your invoices if you keep them in printed form.

Contact Details

Your invoice should contain your contact details as well. The 2020 standard is the email, although it can also contain your phone number in some cases. Ensure that the email stated on the invoice and the phone number are registered if you have registered an agency, and make sure that they are correct. The contact details of the client should be present as well.

Client’s Details

The client’s name, address (if available), and contact details, are all of paramount importance. They signal to the IRS that they can verify your invoice on both sides of communication – you and your client being at the opposing poles of the transaction. This is simply a good practice in doing any business, having clear paperwork that you can rely on at times of need. Being able to quickly and efficiently retrieve client data can save you a lot of time and stress in the long run.

Invoice Date

Dating your invoices is an important thing as well. The invoice date should follow the standard format of MONTH / DAY / YEAR. However, if you work with clients from elsewhere, such as Europe or Australia, be careful not to confuse them:

2/3/2021 – the third of February 2021 in the USA, but:
2/3/2021 – the second of March 2021 in Europe and the majority of the world.

You can avoid the ambiguity by using the first three letters of the name of the month instead of the number, so:

3rd MAR 2021 – this would be a more appropriate and international standard.

Invoice Number

Every invoice should be numbered in the following format: THE NUMBER OF THE INVOICE IN THE CURRENT YEAR / YEAR. So, the first invoice you write in 2021 should be numbered as 1/2021; the second should be: 2/2021, the forty-seventh: 47/2021, etc.

List Of Services Charged For

This list can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Maybe you work for a writing service and have done one more service that makes your client come back for more. In that case, you can list Social Media Marketing Services (usually charged by the hour), or online research (either by volume or by the hour). You can group your services under these headings or be more specific, adding details about Milestones and individual segments of work.

The Amount Charged Per Unit Of Work

Besides this, you can also write the quantity (1, 2, 5, …) and the price per item. You can also charge per page, word, 100 words, or even 1000 words to standardize your practice. In this case, the quantity should state 2.5 for 250 words or 134.6 for 13,460 words. Be as specific as you can with these.

Tax Rate

Always bear in mind that the tax rate comes ON TOP of your service charge. You should never include it because this would mean you are getting paid less for your work. Always charge your worth.

Total Amount Due

Total Amount Due is the sum of all the services you have provided to your client. This amount is the amount that you expect your client to pay and the amount you will present to your local authorities.

Payment Details

Nothing to be scared of when speaking about payments, as this can be as simple as the number of your bank account number you want to be paid to, as well as your PayPal account. Since PayPal is a recognized means of payment in the USA, you should have no issues entering these details in an invoice in a legal way.

Simply type in your email and let the clients use it for money transfers. In some cases, you can even leave several options, if you have several ways to get paid. This gives your clients comfort and can even save them some money, as they will choose the option with the lowest fees.

Author:

Nicole Garrison is a part-time contributor to TrustMyPaper. A busy, aspiring person, she works on her skills pretty much daily. She hopes to establish her own writing agency one day and understands that managing skills are a must to do so.

HireMyMom does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared by a guest author for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.

Written by Lesley Pyle

January 24, 2022

How to Improve Your Health and Fitness While You Make Money From Home

As a new year dawns, many people set health and fitness goals. It’s certainly a popular theme around our virtual water cooler, and we bet it’s trending in your life, too.

You know the basic advice–make health and fitness a priority, move more, sleep better, plan meals. But, working at home throws up some challenges to even the best-laid health and fitness plans.

With years of collective experience working at home and working to stay fit, we’ve put our heads together to share our best tips for success. In each category, we include our favorite small changes that make health and fitness success easier from a home office and build up to more significant changes that have helped us find success on our fitness journeys.

It’s easy to let caring for yourself slide down the priority list as you manage home and work concerns. Sometimes slipping 15 minutes of extra work into your day instead of doing something for your wellbeing is the difference between meeting a deadline or missing it. We get that. But, we also know that ignoring your health can backfire, which is why it’s critical to make it a priority. We hope these tips help you on your journey.

Move more

Working at home offers many advantages, including the 10-second commute, the flexibility to address family issues, and the ability to work comfortably in casual clothes. But, it also offers challenges, like easy access to a kitchen and fewer reasons to go outside or move much.

At home, it’s easy to avoid the type of incidental movement that happens organically when you work in an office. For example, you don’t have to walk in from the parking lot or train station. You never need to stroll down the hall to see a coworker or dash across town for a meeting. In addition, popping outside for a quick walk is more difficult if you have a sleeping baby or a young child who needs you nearby.

Scheduling a workout as part of most days is the surest way to prioritize exercise. We understand this doesn’t always work–and can be a little demoralizing if you miss a workout. But, it’s still essential to move. Here are some of our tips for quickly adding movement to your day:

Prop your computer up so you can stand for a portion of your workday. Standing while responding to email or doing light reading can help you feel more powerful and in control of your time.
Walk around your house while chatting on the phone. You’ll be surprised how many laps you can take around your home office during a 10-minute chat. Bonus: You won’t be tempted to multi-task by checking emails or sneaking a peek at your favorite website.
Set a timer to remind you to get up each hour. When the timer goes off, walk around or stretch for five minutes.
Learn two yoga poses you can do in your home office space. Do one when you start working and one when you stop working. If you work in spurts throughout the day, this light approach to exercise can pay off while helping you get more focused.
Keep light dumbbells next to your desk. Pick them up for some curls or chest presses when your hands are free.
Do 20 jumping jacks between tasks. You’ll get your blood flowing, switch tasks more quickly and find that your focus is better when you return to work.
Start and end your workday by doing planks. Use the time to transition from mom mode to work mode.
Use your office wall to do standing push-ups.
Sprint up and down your stairs a few times between calls or projects.

When you finish work, scoop up your kids and head outside for fresh air and fun. Even if it’s not a full-on workout, a little light movement with your kids can help you transition back into family mode and give everyone a chance to reset and destress from a busy day.

Plan your meals and snacks

Working at home means unfettered access to your kitchen. This can be a great money saver because you can always brew your coffee and make your lunch. But, it can also lead to mindless snacking and stress eating. Paradoxically, we sometimes find ourselves skipping lunch because we are really in the flow of work. This sets the stage for heavy (and often unplanned) afternoon snacking, sabotaging health and fitness goals.

Here are our best tips to avoid the pitfalls of having such easy access to all of your groceries all of the time.

Make a list of healthy snacks and meals that you find satisfying and have them on hand. We like pre-portioned items because they are easy to grab and having a pre-portioned amount makes it easier to control your portion size.
Pack your lunch and snacks the night before so you don’t have to make eating decisions during the heat of the business day.
Take a planned lunch break, especially if you work a full day. Leave your home office to avoid eating at your desk during your lunch break and multi-tasking through your break. You’ll enjoy your lunch more and will feel more refreshed. Bonus if you do a few exercises at the start and stop of each work period, as you’ll add two workout segments to your day.

Also, we have found that it’s essential to have a meal game plan at the start of each week to avoid a scramble for an evening meal. Apps, meal planning services, and grocery delivery can help you work smarter, not harder, in the kitchen and make it easier to achieve your fitness goals. Check out these tips to help ease family meal planning.

Finally, let’s talk about how the food needs of other family members can derail your plans for healthy eating. If your kids are like ours, you likely frequently answer questions about what’s for dinner and what snacks are available. Stops and starts to field snack inquiries can distract from your work and make you hungry.

We’ve found that creating a weekly menu that covers all meals and snacks and hanging it on the refrigerator helps make this easier.

Direct your children to the menu when hunger strikes. (Make sure that some of the snacks can easily be grabbed and opened by young kids. For really young kids, include pictures of items they can select and make them easy to reach.) Having a posted menu reduces the discussion around what’s available to eat, eliminating a distraction for you as you work. Frankly, this one action will buy you untold peace of mind, help you reclaim time every day and make it easier not to snack every time a kid asks for one.

Maintain a good sleep schedule

We often advise rising early or burning the midnight oil to squeeze extra work into the day, reduce child care expenses and make the most of your days. However, that advice comes with an asterisk that you are still getting the sleep you need to be productive. Sure, it’s possible to rise before dawn or stay up well past your bedtime occasionally. However, making a habit out of it will leave you feeling depleted and tired. Here are some of the ways we make sure to get enough sleep:

Set a bedtime for yourself and stick to it. If you know you need to get up at 6 to add some work time to your day, be sure to count back and make sure you get to bed early enough to get enough sleep.
Maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Try to go to sleep and wake up around the same time most days. This will help you feel better and make deviations easier when they do happen.
Turn off all screens an hour before bedtime. Transitioning to a book or other non-screen activity makes it easier to fall asleep.

Please share!

Please tell us what tricks work for you! How have you found success working from home while focusing on health and fitness?

Written by Lesley Pyle

January 23, 2022

Get noticed on LinkedIn: 5 Tips for Small Business Marketing Success

Are you looking for ways to market your small business on LinkedIn? If so, you’re in the right place. The professional networking site is an invaluable tool for small businesses, and is a great way to reach new customers, build relationships, and increase brand awareness. But it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to promoting your business on the platform. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with five tips to help you get noticed on LinkedIn and maximize your small business marketing success. Read on to learn more!

1) Use Keywords in Your Profile

Step one for marketing on LinkedIn is obviously to create a business page! Once you’ve done that, it’s time to fill in all the blanks on your profile using keywords! What are keywords? Well, they are words and phrases related to your industry and what people are searching for. By including them in your company description and job titles, you’ll be more likely to show up when potential customers search. Don’t be afraid to use common industry terms and phrases as well – this will help ensure that people who are looking for what you offer can easily find you.

There are third party services you can pay to find keywords for you, but if you don’t want to use one of those, you can do some manual searching on LinkedIn to see what’s trending. First, take a peek at trending articles in your industry. Second, use the search feature to lookup hashtags, and you can see how many posts are using the hashtag you think might be relevant.

2) Optimize Your Company Page

Having a strong presence on LinkedIn is important for any small business that wants to reach potential customers and build a network. One of the most effective ways to do this is to optimize your company page. A well-crafted company page can help you stand out from the competition, generate more engagement, and give you more exposure on the platform. Here are some tips to make sure your company page is optimized:

Make sure your page looks professional. Use high-quality photos and relevant copy that accurately reflects your business and services.
Link to other platforms. Make sure your page is linked to your website and other social media channels to increase visibility.
Leverage tags. Use relevant tags that describe your industry and target audience so people can find your page more easily.
Encourage followers. Invite existing customers, partners, and colleagues to follow your page and share it with their networks.
Monitor performance. Track how many visits, likes, and shares your page receives and adjust your strategy accordingly.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your company page looks professional, reaches the right people, and drives more engagement on LinkedIn.

3) Create Shareable Content

Creating content that your followers will want to share is essential to success in marketing your small business on LinkedIn. Start by creating content that provides value to your audience. This can include blog posts, videos, articles, or other forms of media that educate, inform, and entertain them. When it comes to content, quality should always be prioritized over quantity. Focus on producing high-quality content that resonates with your target audience.

It’s also important to consider the frequency of your content. Consider scheduling out posts in advance using a tool like Hootsuite. This will help you stay consistent in your posting schedule and ensure that you are actively engaging your followers with new content. Finally, make sure to promote your content across other social media channels as well. By leveraging different networks, you can extend the reach of your content and create more opportunities for engagement and sharing.

4) Engage with Others

Engagement is key to success on any social media platform, and LinkedIn is no exception. Interacting with other users can help you build your brand visibility and credibility, and it’s a great way to network. Here are some tips for engaging with other users on LinkedIn:

Comment on posts. Commenting on posts from people in your network is an effective way to show your support, start conversations, and build relationships.
Post interesting content. Sharing content from industry leaders or thought leaders is a great way to show that you’re knowledgeable and current on trends.
Ask questions. Posting questions related to your industry or niche can help spark conversations and engage people who have similar interests.
Connect with influencers. Connecting with influencers in your industry can help build your network and expose your brand to more people.
Join groups. Joining relevant groups can be a great way to connect with potential customers and prospects, as well as build relationships with other professionals in your industry.

5) Advertise on LinkedIn

LinkedIn Ads provide a great opportunity to promote your small business. You can create targeted campaigns that reach the right audience and measure the success of your campaigns with real-time analytics. With LinkedIn Ads, you can create lead generation forms to capture contact information, drive website traffic, and measure conversions. Start exploring today to find out how advertising on LinkedIn can help you achieve your business goals.

What marketing tips do you have for using LinkedIn? Share them with us today!

Written by Lesley Pyle

January 20, 2022

HireMyMom Success Story: Justine Graf

Tell us about you and your experience finding work on HireMyMom.

My experience on HireMyMom has been wonderful! Within the first week of joining I had 3 interviews and those led to multiple job offers. The response from the companies on HireMyMom have been so quick. I have been working in the online space for about 18 months and this site has been the biggest game-changer for me and my business. The exposure to other companies who are real, professional, and actually need your help is unlike anything I’ve found before. I’m very grateful to have found this site!

What are your top tips for landing a job or jobs on HireMyMom.com?

Be honest, direct, and check all of the listings daily.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your work from home journey?

Don’t be discouraged when you can’t find what you are looking for at first or if things don’t work out as you planned. There is something better out there waiting for you – you just have to keep looking!

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

My children

What is something about you that many people don’t know?

I’m a lefty

Written by Lesley Pyle

January 17, 2022

How to Win During the Great Resignation so Your Business Can Grow

If you are a small business owner, you may be feeling dizzy from all the economic news of the last year. Inflation is rising. Labor is in short supply, Americans are quitting jobs in record numbers and workers are asking for more from their jobs–more money, more flexibility, and more meaning. We expect these trends to accelerate into the new year.

To help you prepare as we head into 2022, we’ve gathered the HireMyMom team to round up the most common questions we hear and the answers from our team of pros. This Q and A style blog offers a window into what we see across clients and from our mom professionals. At the end, we include our best advice to make this strange moment work for your business. With knowledge about what’s happening and a solid strategy, your business could emerge stronger than ever and with your best staff.

Are people really leaving jobs, or is the Great Resignation a media term?

According to HireMyMom’s concierge team, the Great Resignation is genuinely underway.

People are leaving their jobs in record numbers for a variety of reasons. Our recruiting team reports that people are parting ways with employers to earn more money and find better work environments. People who are being called back into an office full time or those losing work-from-home options or flexible hours are especially prone to packing up and moving on.

Kelly, who works on our recruiting team, said mom professionals tell her that working from home is no longer a perk but a requirement. She’s also seeing many highly-skilled women start a small business, so they have more flexibility to define their work lives.

Many people used the time during the pandemic to reassess properties and take a fresh look at professional ambitions.

Tesia, who also works in recruiting, recalled a woman she interviewed earlier this week. She said that had it not been for the pandemic and her experience working remotely, she never would have left her job. But, now that she’s back in the office, she misses the family connection and flexibility of her work-from-home job, so she’s looking for new opportunities.

Our team is not alone in noticing the trend. According to data released by the Labor Department, about 4.2 million people abandoned jobs in October, which accounts for about 2.8% of the U.S. workforce. In September, a record 4.4 million people left a job.

Is it really tougher to hire new people than it’s been in the past?

According to our CEO and Founder, Lesley Pyle, this is the most challenging hiring environment she’s seen in her 15 years of running HireMyMom.com. She observed that it’s truly an employee’s market. She said it’s more difficult to fill common jobs–like virtual assistant roles–than it was just a few months ago.

The National Federation of Independent Business Job Report said that 93% of small business owners reported few or no candidates for open jobs in November. And that was a slight improvement over the 95% of business owners who reported the same for October.

Tesia said she’d seen this first hand, explaining that applicants are scarce for some jobs but stronger for jobs that offer higher pay and managerial responsibilities. High-quality candidates are getting snapped up quickly, she said.

Overall, the Labor Department reported 11 million job openings in October and estimates almost 5 million more open jobs than people seeking work.

Part of the shortage is that many mothers are still on the sidelines. According to the Associated Press, when the pandemic started in the spring of 2020, about 3.5 million moms with school-age children left the workforce, lost jobs, or took leaves of absence from work.

And, many working women are still out of the workforce as child care and school schedules remain in flux. According to McKinsey & Company, one in three mothers may be forced to scale back or opt out of work because of the increased demands the pandemic puts on mothers.

What advice do you have for companies that need new employees or want to grow?

Building a team is one of the most important things you can do as a small business owner. Obviously, there are some headwinds as you start to hire.

But, there are plenty of upsides, too. If you can offer the right combination of opportunity, pay, and flexibility, you could nab a superstar who has left another employer. The first step is to make your job stand out in a crowded market.

As you prepare to hire, here are a few tips:

Move quickly. Employers are snapping up top applicants fast. Hold off on posting your opening until you have a window of time to look at applications and move quickly on an interview and offer. It’s OK to take a few days to decide, but if you leave applicants hanging for weeks as you make your decision or get pulled in other directions, you are likely to miss out on your top choice.
Make it easy to apply for your open role. Applicants with many options may not invest hours completing an online application or doing a skills test upfront. Save that for a final round of interviews. Also, consider if those activities actually yield better candidates and help you decide. If not–or if you aren’t sure–this may be the time to retire those practices.
Take a critical look at pay. Offering low pay will extend the time it takes to find the right person and reduce the pool of high-quality applicants for you to consider. Paying a bit more could save you money in the long term and reduce your turnover.

Pay is tricky, but generally, higher pay attracts stronger candidates. Be realistic about the skills you are looking for and what the market is paying for those skills. You can talk with the pros at HireMyMom to help you find the proper pay range for your job.

Be flexible. Candidates often look for flexible hours, which can mean many different things, from part-time hours to a shared job. For some applicants, it’s the ability to work different hours on different days.

Before you post a job, think about what you need and be clear in your posting about your flexibility. The more flexibility you have, the greater the number of candidates you will likely attract. If you don’t think there’s much flexibility in your role, run your thinking by others and see if you can’t find some wiggle room to make the job more attractive to candidates.

Cast a wider net. As a small business owner offering flexible and meaningful jobs, there is a tremendous pool of workers that you can tap into–moms who are ready to leave the rat race and find work-from-home positions that meet their needs.

To find mom professionals interested in remote job opportunities, partner with a niche job site like HireMyMom to access a dedicated pool of professionals looking for remote work. Because HireMyMom charges job seekers a fee to access job listings, all our job seekers are serious about finding work. And, the volume of resumes that flow in is more manageable than the numbers that arrive when jobs are advertised on free job sites.

And, follow these tips to help you tap into that resource.

What are you experiencing as you try to hire new team members? Drop us a line and share your experiences.

Written by Lesley Pyle

January 10, 2022

Our Top Tips to Make This Year the Best Ever for Your Business

The start of a new year reminds us of the possibilities ahead. And, at this moment, there are so many possibilities for small business owners. The economy is growing and changing quickly. People worldwide are rethinking how work fits into their life. Virtual work continues to grow, changing the complexion of teams and the way businesses find staff and customers.

The Hire My Mom team is excited about the year ahead–and based on our conversations with the entrepreneurs we work with, we know you are, too. We’ve all learned a lot about flexibility and resiliency in the last two years. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves, our goals, and our businesses.

As we embark upon the first few weeks of 2022, we know that many of you are doing some future planning. To help, we’ve gathered our top tips for business planning and dropped additional resources into each suggestion to help you refine your business plans and tackle your goals this year.

Let’s dig in!

Take inventory

January is a great time to look back at last year and complete an honest assessment of what went well and where you might want to change tracks. It’s tough to do this in the heat of each project, but the start of the new year and the planning that goes with it is the perfect time to reflect.

One way to do this is to perform a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This type of analysis is quick and gives you a good sense of where you are right now, where you are heading and insights about how to make the most of every opportunity before you. You can complete a basic one at your kitchen table by hand, dash one out on your computer, or take advantage of our free template.

Set goals

Frequent readers of the blog know we often suggest goal setting as a first step–and with good reason, the process works! After the craziness of the last two years and the unknowns about the future, you might be tempted to set only one goal–going with the flow. We get it! It’s tough to make solid plans these days.

However, in our experience, setting a few practical and achievable goals and sharing them broadly with your team is a key component for success. Goals create the yardstick that guides you and your team along the way when the unexpected happens. Setting SMART goals–those that are specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and timely, can help to shape your day-to-day actions and guide your longer-term thinking. Check out our tips for setting SMART goals with remote teams.

Brush up your leadership skills

Leading a team is hard work. No matter how long you’ve been doing it or how many people you lead, the work takes a toll.

But, like any muscle, your leadership skills get stronger with knowledge and practice. As we head into the new year, check out this blog about traits all great leaders share. It’s a quick read, but it offers concrete ideas about improving your leadership skills.

Get support

Consider adding your own development to the list as you think about your business goals. As a leader, it’s easy to lose focus on growing your own skills. And, leadership can be lonely. A Mastermind group can help you get the support and guidance that can take your skills and your business to the next level and open up new possibilities for you.

In 2022, Hire My Mom is offering a Mastermind group for small business owners. The group will meet virtually twice a month. One meeting each month will focus on growth in a specific topic from a coach or professional in the area. The other meeting will function as a think tank to collaborate, brainstorm, discuss and offer suggestions, ideas, and problem-solving to one another.

Learn more here. Then, you can mark one of your goals complete. (We love that feeling!)

Find a coach

As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to let your business goals take center stage over your personal goals. When that happens, many people, especially moms, feel guilty. But, one thing we have learned over the years is that finding meaningful success without sacrificing family time is a team sport and like all teams, a coach is a critical part of the team.

We all need support in business and life. It’s easy to feel stuck or overwhelmed–especially as you raise a family, navigate career space and build a business. An experienced, independent, outside voice can help provide feedback on what’s working and what’s not working and give you the clarity you need on the best way to use your time and energy.

Coaching can work with a Mastermind group or without. You can find a coach to help you focus on your business or to help you grow your leadership and other soft skills. Hear directly from two coaches with different focuses, learn more about how they help their clients get results.

Lighten your load

As you started your business, you likely did much of your work yourself. You managed your calendar, pitched products, booked travel, invoiced clients, monitored social media, and built and managed your team. But, as your business grows, it becomes more challenging to shoulder all that work alone.

What’s worse, doing all the things can prevent you from investing the time and brain power needed to grow your business in meaningful ways. Enter the Virtual Assistant.

Virtual assistants (VA) can save the day–and your sanity. Knowing how to find and use VAs can change your life as an entrepreneur and help you take your business to the next level. As you plan for the new year, consider if it’s time for you to find a virtual assistant.

Build a system

After conducting a SWOT analysis, many entrepreneurs find that efficiency is one of the areas of potential improvement for their business. An easy way to improve efficiency is to create a system for portions of your work.

A system is a set of processes, tools, people, and strategies that work together to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Creating a system for portions of your work can help you achieve a level of automation that lets you work more effectively on the things that matter, add predictability to your business, gain some time back, and make your life easier. Here’s how to get started.

Show your team some love

In the hustle of daily life, it’s easy to take your team for granted. After you read this blog, spend a few minutes dashing off notes to your team members telling them how much you appreciate them and why.

Then, consider making recognition a practice this year. If the idea of creating a more formal recognition process daunts you, check out this blog for ideas about how to recognize your team members, why it matters, and to learn ways to make the process feel more natural.

Also, consider conducting performance reviews for your team. Performance reviews are an essential tool and can lead to rich conversations and serve as a catalyst for growth for you and your team.

Think about your team needs

If you’re like many employers right now, your team is likely on your mind. The members of your team are critical to your success. In the midst of the great resignation, you may be worried about finding your next team member and thinking about how to prevent your best employees from walking out the door.

In the next few weeks, set aside some time to think about your staffing needs in the new year. Perhaps there are opportunities to let current team members grow in new ways. Maybe, you need to add roles or reorganize the way you work.

Investing some thinking here early in the year can help give you a leg up if you need to grow or change your staff. If you think hiring may be a part of your future, check out these tips to make your job stand out in a crowded field.

Cheers to a great 2022!

Drop us a line and share how you plan for the new year!

Hire My Mom

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Author: Lesley Pyle

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What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your work from home journey?

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

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